Thursday, August 18, 2016

Man indicted for shining spotlight into helicopter cockpit

A Canal Winchester man has been indicted on two felony charges for allegedly shining a “high-powered spotlight” at a Columbus police helicopter involved in the search for a missing child.Earl Warren Boorn, 57, was indicted Aug. 18 on one count of interfering with the operation of an aircraft by shining a light into the cockpit, a second-degree felony, and one count of possessing criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony.While helping officers on the ground search the Canal Winchester area for the child late on May 18, the crew of the police helicopter was temporarily blinded after the cockpit was hit with the light, according to Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien.He said the crew was able to recover and land safely.“A search warrant was executed at Boorn’s home and a Sport Spot 10 Million candlepower spotlight was recovered,” O’Brien said.Boorn is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 6. If he is convicted of the charges, he faces up to nine years in prison.Source: http://www.thisweeknews.com